Design My World
by ss1128
Summary: Kenshin Himura has an average life, being an architect, having a family. When a girl enters his life, his world turns upside down. His mixed feelings about her lead him to confusion, hate, love, sorrow, and overall a new life. [Chapter 6 is up! Sorry for
1. Out Designed

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Just the plot.

A/N: Hey! This is my first fic, I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review!

Full Summary: Kenshin Himura is an architect, has a family, and gets paid an average amount in his average life. One day, a new girl enters his life in the most confusing way. His mixed emotions about her lead to love, hate, happiness, sorrow, mistakes, lies, and overall, a new life.

Design My World

Chapter One: Out-Designed

**_Monday, June 6th, 2005 – 8:00 AM_**

_**Tokyo, Japan**_

There was much chatter at The Seijurou Architectural Industries that morning. It was like this every Monday morning. There was always gossip to go around, and there would always be talk about the weekend, talk about the upcoming plans of the week, etc, etc.

But unlike his workers, Kenshin Himura hated this kind of Monday morning talk. He hated loud noise first thing in the morning – it gave him a headache. He just wanted to finish the weekly, Monday morning meeting, and go straight to his office for peace and quiet. Getting off the elevator, he headed to the meeting.

"Let's get moving, people! We've got lots of work to do! Get to your meetings, now!" Hiko Seijurou, the head of the company, shouted, as he headed over towards the elevator. He wasn't a Monday morning person either. "DON'T TALK BACK AT ME, HONJOU! GET YOUR SISSY ASS OUT OF MY FACE!" Hiko roared once again at a stunned architect. He threw the door to the staircase open, and it closed once Hiko began climbing up the stairs.

"Well, you heard what he said. Get to the meetings," said Enishi Yukishiro in a cool tone which Kenshin hated. In fact, Kenshin hated everything about Enishi Yukishiro. He hated his sarcasm, he hated how he pretended to have all the control, he hated the fact that he was his brother in law – the list would go on forever.

He grumbled as he stumbled into 'Room 210' with an armful of blueprints. Damn those freaking elevators. They just had to break down today. Kenshin was tired without the blueprints' help – the night before he had gotten no sleep, due to the fact his son was crying all night. Sure, he loved his son, but at times, he had become a big…responsibility.

"You're late, Himura,"

Kenshin groaned inwardly as he heard that cool voice again. He glanced up at the clock. The meeting was supposed to start at 8:15. It was 8:17. _How would two minutes make a difference?_

"I'm sorry, I got caught up trying to carry these here," he muttered.

"Oh well, nothing we can do now. Be quicker next time, we wouldn't want to waste valuable time, now would we?" he said in his sickeningly, fake-sweet voice. "Now, lets get down to business. It's only a matter of time before the blueprints for the theater are due. Luckily, Himura here took the time to give his idea of the theater's layout. I will now turn over to him,"

Kenshin unrolled the blueprint, and posted it on the wall with a thumbtack. "I thought that the theater should have a round shape. Not exactly a circle, but more of an oval, or an ellipse. That way, the acoustics for the theater would be better. I thought that the ceiling shouldn't be too high – that would take up too much space and the walls wouldn't be able to support something like that -- "

"You're wrong," said a voice to his right, which was at the door.

A young woman – couldn't be older than twenty-two – was standing at the door. She was very pretty, her black hair swept up in a ponytail, and her azure-blue eyes on her pale face. She didn't have an unhealthy-pale look, though. She was definitely Japanese – Kenshin could tell by her voice. This woman didn't look like a professional because she didn't wear proper work clothes, and didn't have any materials with her. Besides, they had never seen her at the company either.

"Excuse me – you're not supposed to be here," Kenshin remarked, quite irritated that this woman was accusing him of being wrong.

"No, let her go on, I'm interested in what she has to say," retorted Enishi, who was quite pleased that Kenshin had gotten something incorrect.

"Thank you, even if I am butting in," she murmured to Enishi. "I'm not saying that you are wrong – well, you sort of are, but – anyway, the ceiling should be higher because that would also give a better acoustic effect – unless, of course, you give it a flat shaped ceiling. That would kill the sound. If you had a slightly curved ceiling, or even a slightly triangular shaped one, that would be able to hold up the walls just fine,"

Kenshin gawked at her. How dare she correct him! She didn't even work here!

"Well, well, a young woman that doesn't even work here corrected you," Enishi pointed out, with a mischievous grin. "Thank you, miss…?"

"Miss Kaoru Kamiya," she answered with a smile.

"Thank you, Miss Kamiya," Enishi finished. 'Miss Kaoru Kamiya' bowed quickly and left their meeting.

"Well, that was certainly interesting. The meeting's over, but I expect you to have a blueprint that's more suitable to what Miss Kamiya said by… Wednesday," Enishi sneered.

"Yes, Enishi," Kenshin muttered, thoroughly annoyed at this new girl. What kind of nerve does she have to just barge in like that? And she just had to make him look bad!

"Good. Now get working," he ordered coldly.

Kenshin groaned as he plopped down onto his chair at his desk, taking a pencil out of his pencil cup, ready to work.

Kaoru Kamiya could've smacked herself – waking up late on the day of an interview wasn't too convenient. Her stupid alarm clock just had to break.

Rushing out the door, she pulled her hair up in a ponytail and drove in her Sedan to her interview at The Seijurou Architectual Industries. Kaoru was actually a professional dancer, but she became pressured to pay for her rent – which she skipped four months of, due to her struggle with money. So she decided to try to get another job in the architectural world, because she had always loved sketching and drawing. She had so many ideas and visions, even if she wasn't a professional.

Getting out of the car, she quickly locked it and sprinted inside. The building looked very elite and high class. Oh no. This wouldn't be good.

She stumbled towards the staircase as fast as she could, because the elevator was broken.

"Oh my gosh… ten minutes late!" she hissed, mentally kicking herself. She literally ran up the stairs to the fifth floor. "Excuse me!" she said loudly and rudely to a tall, muscular man with spiky brown hair and a toothpick in his mouth.

"Watch where you're going, missy," he replied in an equally loud voice. Kaoru ignored him and headed up the steps still.

Unfortunately, in her rush to get there, her heel broke off. Kaoru screamed as she descended downwards, about to fall smack down on her head, when she felt someone catch her.

It was the man with the brown, spiky hair.

Kaoru blinked in a state of shock, and soon realized what happened.

"Oh… thank you," she thanked, as she stood up and brushed dirt off her skirt. "But I have to get to a meeting now. Sorry I was so rude before,"

"No problem, missy," he responded, still fiddling with the toothpick. "Just watch out next time. I don't want anyone dead here,"

"I can take care of myself just fine!" she huffed. "And I have a name, you know. Kaoru Kamiya,"

"Nice to meet you, missy," he replied with a smirk as she wore a look of fury. He exited the staircase on the fifth floor, the same as her.

_Well, he was kind,_ she thought. She headed to the room that said, "Mr. Seijurou's Office," took a deep breath, and entered.

"… no, no! The plans are due in two _weeks,_ not two days! Jesus… I've got to go, goodbye," Hiko said in frustration. "What do you want? Hey… I haven't seen you before. Damn! Has Enishi been hiring young secretaries again? He knows he can't do that! That perverted…"

"No, Mr. Seijurou. I'm here for the interview," Kaoru explained.

"Well. Have a seat," he told her. She accepted and sat in the seat in front of his desk, hoping he wouldn't notice the time.

"… You know you're about fifteen minutes late, right?" Hiko pointed out. She groaned inwardly.

"Yes, I had…traffic troubles. It wouldn't happen again. There's a huge crowd out there," she said, pointing out the window.

"Very well," he said, after a long pause. "Let's get down to business. How old are you?"

"Twenty two," she responded calmly.

"Oh… you're very young, you've just graduated from where…?" he asked.

"Harvard University," she replied proudly. She had gotten a scholarship to Harvard.

Hiko seemed impressed. "Wow, that's pretty good. Harvard. The big H. So… what kind of experience do you have in architecture?"

"Well… um… basically none. This is one of my first jobs," she explained.

"Oh? So what are your previous jobs?" he inquired.

"A waitress at a local diner, a cashier at Burger King, and a dancer," she muttered, in humiliation.

"Oh." Hiko murmured in slight disappointment. "So…no experience at all?"

"Well, I've drawn and sketched before – I was a set designer in high school for most of the plays, but nothing professional," she explained once again.

"Okay, okay…" he said in a low tone, writing things down on a notepad. "I read your résumé while you came, and you don't have too bad of a background and all, so I think you probably nabbed the job,"

Kaoru was ecstatic, but tried to stay cool and collected. "Thank you, Mr. Seijurou," she replied. "Trust me, I won't be late again, and I will try my hardest to reach your expectations,"

"Wait, I wasn't finished," he interrupted. "Come back tomorrow and bring something that proves to me that you can be an architect – like a blueprint,"

"That, I will do, Mr. Seijurou," she responded. "What time should I stop by tomorrow?"

"Same time," he replied.

Kaoru bowed and quickly left the office. On her way to the stairs, she heard a man obviously in a meeting explaining the plans of a building. She peered through the door, and watched the meeting.

"…the ceiling shouldn't be too high – that would take up too much space and the walls wouldn't be able to support something like that--" the man said. He had fiery-red, long hair tied in a ponytail and warm, violet eyes. He looked about thirty.

But more importantly, what he was saying was wrong. It's better for the ceiling to be higher, not lower, if he wants good acoustics.

"You're wrong," she blurted out, quickly regretting what she said.

"Excuse me – you're not supposed to be here," the man said, obviously irritated by her.

"No, let her go on, I'm interested in what she has to say," said a man with snow-white hair and sunglasses.

"Thank you, even if I am butting in," she murmured. "I'm not saying that you are wrong – well, you sort of are, but – anyway, the ceiling should be higher because that would also give a better acoustic effect – unless, of course, you give it a flat shaped ceiling. That would kill the sound. If you had a slightly curved ceiling, or even a slightly triangular shaped one, that would be able to hold up the walls just fine,"

The red-haired man glared at her. She felt pretty bad for making him look bad, but she was right. Well, she thought she was.

"Well, well, a young woman that doesn't even work here corrected you," the white-haired man said with a grin. "Thank you, miss…?"

"Miss Kaoru Kamiya," she automatically replied, feeling pride in herself.

"Thank you, Miss Kamiya," he said. Kaoru quickly bowed and left the meeting as soon as possible.

She wordlessly walked down the staircase, out of the building, into the parking lot, and into her car.

"Yes!"

Thanks for reading! Please review! No flames, please. Constructive criticism is nice though. I will include all my reviewers in the next chapter!

/xoxo/

ss1128-


	2. Long Talks

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Only the plot, thank you very much.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed my fic so far! I will try to listen to your comments and suggestions and apply them to this fic as much as I can!

BTW – Kaoru didn't interrupt the same meeting twice, I just wrote it from a different point of view to any confused readers Sorry that I didn't write anything to show a different POV and a flashback.

WARNING: A moment where Kaoru and Misao are mean to telemarketers. But then again, so am I.  Mild cursing.

Design My World

Chapter Two:

**_Monday, June 6th, 2005 – 12:30 PM  
_**_**Tokyo, Japan**_

Kenshin sighed in frustration as he snapped another pencil in half. He couldn't get a plan that was perfect. He couldn't! It was impossible. The measurements didn't match. Hell, nothing matched!

He threw the broken pieces of the pencil into the garbage. There were about ten other identical pencil pieces in the bin.

"Kenny… How about we go get a lunch break? On me?" asked Kamatari Honjou, putting a hand on his shoulder in sympathy.

Kenshin mumbled an 'alright,' and an immediately happy Kamatari jumped up, yanked him up by the ear, and started dragging him out of the secluded building.

"Kamatari… ahh – that hurts! You know, I can walk for myself," Kenshin told him, as he was still dragging him by the ear.

"Oh, sorry, Kenny-hunny," he replied, letting go of his ear instantly.

"You know I don't like being called that," he muttered.

"I'm sorry, I forgot – again," Kamatari apologized.

"That's alright," he murmured. "So where are we going?"

"Down the block – there's a new place called 'Dong-Suk's Noodle Shop,'" he explained. "It's quite good, if you ask me,"

"You've been there?" inquired Kenshin.

"Yes, of course! Didn't I tell you?" Kamatari asked in confusion.

"Tell me what?" Kenshin questioned in equal confusion.

"I went there last night on a date!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, really? How was it?" Kenshin asked, half-bored as they walked down the sidewalk. He was trying to ignore the constant, 'Hey, gay fags!' from teenage drivers as they walked down the street.

"It was simply _divine_… you should've seen him, Kenny, he had the most gorgeous brown eyes…" Kamatari said dreamily, suddenly going off in another world.

"Kamatari…?" Kenshin asked. "You okay?"

"Oh, yes, Kenny, I'm fine…" he said, snapping out of his reverie of the previous night.

"So… are you going to see him again?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know," he said sadly. "He didn't seem that interested. He asked for my number, though,"

"Er – well, there's still hope, right?" suggested Kenshin. He knew that Kamatari didn't do too well with men, but he said it to keep his hopes up.

"Yes! There still is, Kenny," he replied brightly. It was quite awkward to have a gay friend, in Kenshin's opinion, but he was a nice guy, so he didn't mind him too much.

"Here it is!"

Kenshin looked up and saw a simple noodle shop. It looked like just any other one, just had shiner windows. By the looks of it, it wasn't too popular because there was no line. They entered the noodle shop, where it smelt of udon and other Japanese noodles.

"Two, please," Kamatari requested. Kenshin felt that awkward feeling, once again. He looked around the shop. There were simple decorations – plain, brown wallpaper and simple, green plants were lying all over the shop.

"Weren't you here yesterday?" inquired a waiter.

"Yes, I was," Kamatari replied. "You remember me?" he inquired hopefully.

"Not really, you just looked familiar," answered the waiter.

"Well, it's nice of you to remember me," Kamatari replied, as they sat down.

Kenshin stared at the menu. All there was was… noodles. After ten minutes, he decided to have udon.

"I'll have the Dong-Suk Noodle Shop udon, please," Kenshin requested.

"Uh… give me a sec, hunny. Hm… I'll take the same thing. And a Coke," Kamatari said to the waiter, who nodded and left.

"So… why were you so upset at the office, Kenny?" asked Kamatari.

"Enishi is trying so hard for me to get fired… did you see what happened at that meeting today?" Kenshin asked in frustration.

"Yeah… he might as well killed you, Kenny. Hey, about that new girl – I heard she's some sort of dancer, or something. Heard she's hot," he replied, with a wink.

"Kamatari," Kenshin groaned. "Do you really have to say that here? Besides, I have a wife. And a son, thank you very much. I love them, not that – that stupid girl," he muttered.

"Kenny, don't get too upset. I heard she's actually pretty nice." Kamatari pointed out.

"From who? Her mother?" Kenshin murmured.

"No, silly, from Hiko," Kamatari explained.

"Hiko? Why was she visiting Hiko?" he inquired.

"I don't know, probably to get a job," he answered, stirring his Coke that was placed in front of him.

Kenshin nearly choked while drinking his tea. "WHAT? Get a job?"

"Yes, that's what I said, Kenny. You know, you really should get those hearing aids I suggested a few months ago. They work wonders," he explained.

"Why would she get a job? Especially here, if she's a dancer," Kenshin questioned, ignoring the remark about the hearing aids.

"Beats me, I'm no woman expert. Probably to get more money," he suggested.

The steaming hot udon dishes were placed in front of them. While Kamatari ate his food in joy, Kenshin just stared into the soup.

"Now, Kenny, don't be worried. If she's a professional dancer, she couldn't be that great at architecture, now could she? She won't get you fired, don't you worry," Kamatari reassured. "Besides, it's your uncle who's the head of the company. He gets to make those kinds of decisions. He wouldn't fire you,"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kenshin replied with a sigh. He grabbed his stirring noodles with his chopsticks and slowly chewed on it. "This is not bad, Kamatari, not bad at all,"

"See! I told you so," Kamatari said in glee.

"Ha… right," Kenshin murmured, taking another slurp of soup.

Kaoru sighed in exhaustion as she opened the door to her apartment. She had to find those college sketches, and if she couldn't she'd have to stay up all night making another one.

* * *

"Oh, Kaoruuuuu!" sang a high voice from the kitchen.

Kaoru grinned as she smelt a familiar aroma of sukiyaki. "Hey, Misao," Misao was a hyper, twenty year old college student that was her best friend in school and out of school. Her bright blue eyes always sparkled with excitement and her black braid always seemed to bounce from her energy.

"How was the interview today?" inquired Misao.

"It was great, I only need to show an example of something I drew or designed to the boss and I got the job!" she explained.

"Kaoru! That's awesome! Now I won't have to pay much of the rent, right?" Misao asked hopefully. Kaoru laughed. "Well, not until I graduate, at least,"

"Right, Misao, right," Kaoru said.

"I won't be much of a bother after I graduate," Misao told her, using a rice scooper to give Kaoru a scoop of rice with her dinner. Kaoru groaned. She knew a story was coming. "Aoshi-sama will ask me out, and then propose, and then we'll get married!" she said joyfully, dancing with the rice scooper.

"You have a wild imagination, Misao," Kaoru replied with a laugh.

"It will happen! He says 'I'm still too young,' but if I wait too long, _he'll_ be too old! He'll ask me right when college ends, I know it!" Misao exclaimed.

"Okay, okay," Kaoru answered, rolling her eyes.

"Here you go," Misao said brightly, carrying a plate of sukiyaki to her.

"Thanks," Kaoru replied.

"This is just a thank-you to you for letting me stay here, the dorms are terrible!" Misao complained.

"Yes, I've heard many times, Misao," Kaoru sighed. "and you know that you're always welcome to stay here! You're my best friend,"

"Thanks, Kaoru!" Misao exclaimed, as she sat down next to her, gulping her sukiyaki down. "Sorry that I couldn't make it to your dance performance tonight. I have a HUGE American History exam tomorrow, and I needed to study,"

"That's fine, Misao, besides, you've seen it a million times," Kaoru replied reassuringly.

"I know, but I feel bad!" Misao explained, sipping her water.

"You don't have to – I thought that you might get bored after a while," Kaoru answered.

"I don't," she lied.

"You probably think about, 'You Aoshi-sama' during my performance!" she teased.

"I can't help it! He's so… dreamy, his eyes… his beautiful eyes… he's so buff… and tall… and handsome… and quiet…" she fantasized, her eyes sparkling.

" – Which is funny, because he's silent and you're just a talking-machine," Kaoru teased again. Misao smacked her arm playfully.

"So what, if I talk a lot? There's so much to talk about!" Misao retorted.

"Like what?" she inquired.

"Like – I saw Aoshi-sama in the park today…" she said, which was one example.

"Really? I didn't take Shinomori as a park person," Kaoru murmured.

"I know! Neither did I. I asked him what he was doing there, and he didn't answer me. He just looked at me, like I was his _everything_," Misao explained, emphasizing 'everything.' "I know he'll ask me soon, I know it!"

"Yes, he will ask you soon, don't worry," Kaoru said sarcastically. "The last time you said that was four years ago, when you were graduating from High School.

"I know, but I was stupid back then. This time I know he's going to!" Misao whined.

"Okay, I believe you, Misao," she said, carrying her plate of what was sukiyaki to the sink.

"Good, because it will happen," she answered, mimicking her.

Kaoru laughed at her stubbornness, and headed to her bedroom. It was a small, cozy room that consisted of a queen-sized bed, a patio, white walls, a stereo (to play her favorite music,) and a bathroom. It was simple, but enough for Kaoru.

"I'll be taking a shower, if I get any calls, just tell them I'll call them back. And if they're telemarketers…" Kaoru began.

"… tell them to shut their face and shove their stupid product up their ass!" Misao finished, laughing hysterically.

"You know it," Kaoru replied, laughing along with her. It was Misao's idea to say that phrase that had made her laugh every time she said that. Kaoru turned on the shower and let it run for a few minutes to warm up. After it did, she stepped into the shower. It felt good to take a nice, long shower. She grabbed her shampoo – Herbal Essences. It was her favorite. It smelt so good! And she used it since she was a young teenager. Kaoru also had a secret reason why she used it. Her first boyfriend that she had while she was in college always told her that one of the reasons he loved her was how good her hair smelt. Stupid, but she liked it.

She started humming a tune – one that was one of her favorites. "I hope you never lose your sense of wonder, you get your fill to eat…"

"But always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted  
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed  
I hope you still feel small  
When you stand by the ocean  
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens  
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance  
I hope you dance  
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance  
Never settle for the path of least resistance  
Living might mean taking chances  
But they're worth taking  
Lovin' might be a mistake  
But it's worth making  
Don't let some hell bent heart  
Leave you bitter  
When you come close to selling out  
Reconsider  
Give the heavens above  
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance  
I hope you dance  
I hope you dance  
I hope you dance  
I hope you dance

I hope you still feel small  
When you stand by the ocean  
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens  
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance  
Dance  
I hope you dance  
I hope you dance  
I hope you dance  
I hope you dance  
I hope you dance

I hope you dance…"

She finished the song in pure happiness. It was her favorite song when she was eight. It was such a beautiful song. She turned the knob for the water off and stepped out, dried herself, and put her robe on. Kaoru sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, after wiping it clean. She wondered if she was ever going to find 'true love' again. She loved him… and she never knew why he broke up with her.

She quickly changed into her pajamas. They were a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt saying, "Boys stink. Throw rocks at them."

She came out of her bedroom and called, "Did I get any calls?"

"Uh… someone from the dance company, I think it was Soujirou, and one telemarketer," Misao recited, watching TV.

"What did he want?" questioned Kaoru.

"I don't know," Misao replied, flipping through the channels. She stopped on Fox, where she started watching, "The OC,"

"Ahh! Adam Brody is soooo hot," Misao drooled.

"Ah, so you're cheating on Shinomori?" She cocked an eyebrow at her.

"No! Aoshi-sama's much hotter… but Adam is too!" she exclaimed.

"Whatever," Kaoru replied, dialing the number for the dance company.

Ring… Ring…

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sou, it's Kaoru. Did you call?"

"Yeah… I just wanted to say goodbye… I mean, today was your last day, right?"

"Yes, it was. Oh my gosh, it was!"

She heard a laugh at the other end.

"Sou! Ohmygosh, I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Me too, Kaoru, me too. But we can still get together, right?"

"Yeah,"

"I had a great time working with you,"

"Me too…"

There was a silence, and the man on the other end ended it. "Goodbye, Kaoru,"

"Bye, Sou…"

There was a click on the other end, and Kaoru hung up right after that.

"Who called?" Misao asked.

"It was Soujirou," Kaoru answered.

"I knew it!" Misao shouted to the screen, even though it applied to Kaoru too. She rolled her eyes, and headed towards her room.

"Where are you going? Don't you want to watch The OC with me?" Misao inquired.

"Yeah, but I have to find those drawings…" Kaoru began.

"Oh, right, okay," Misao interrupted, stuffing a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

Kaoru opened the closet where she kept her college stuff in. It was dusty, because she hadn't opened it in a long time. "I should have done this before I took a shower…" she groaned. She started from the bottom, working her way to the top.

After an hour, she found a sketch she made of the set design for, "Guys and Dolls," it was pretty good, but she remembered that she had made better. She sighed as she began looking for more.

After three hours, she finally found the right one. It was the set design she had made for, "A Misummer Night's Dream," It was perfect. She squealed in joy as she placed it on her bed.

But she felt like she needed to show something else – it didn't seem like enough. She searched some more, and found a blueprint of the design for the mall in downtown Tokyo. She completely forgot about this! Kaoru had originally made it for the mall, but ended up not submitting it, because of the lack of time she had.

Now this was impressive. She had full detail about the mall, each measurement precise and every angle perfect.

"Yes!" She nearly screamed, as she rolled it up along with the set design and placed it by the door, so she wouldn't forget it in the morning.

Kaoru looked out of her bedroom by the television, and saw Misao, snoring away.

She retreated back to her room, fell on her bed, and instantly entered deep sleep.

* * *

To My Reviewers:

**Shimmering tear** Haha! Thanks so much! Don't worry, it'll turn out K/K… eventually.

**Lili125** Wow! You liked it that much? Haha thanks a lot!

**Moomoo** Thanks, moomoo! I just hope I don't get a writer's block while writing this… ugh I hate them!

**Kher** thanks! I'll try writing more descriptive scenes. And about the Kaoru and the meeting thing, I wrote the explanation at the top. Thanks, again!

**Gabyhyatt **thank you! I'll try to make this chapter as good as the first!

**RK9** wow, long review! Haha thanks so much! Yeah, I tried to get that Kenshin/Kaoru conflict going on there. Yep, I might not do that flashback thing anymore but I will only if I have to, because it even confused me:- thanks for your comments!

**Blooded wyngs** why isn't it good if Kenshin already has a family? Don't worry, it's going to turn out just fine with Kenshin and Kaoru. I took your advice with the names, btw ;-D

**Jeez** um… Kaoru isn't going to be a homewrecker. Trust me. And it will turn out K/K. Thanks for reviewing, though!

**Kawaii Meeh** All your questions will be answered by the next chapter or the one after wouldn't want to spoil the story, now would I? ;)

**Royal BlueKitsune **No, Tomoe's not dead. She did try to hush the baby many times before, so they tried to do that 'Ferberizing' method. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. ;)

**1kenshinlover** yep, me too. K/K is the best.

**Mizz-Clumsy** yeah… my note at the beginning of this chapter explained that :-P

**The Ancient Mariner's Wish** Well, that's good to know! I like my stories being different than others

Thanks for reading this chapter! Please review! It would mean the world to me. I'd read and respond to every one!

See you in the next chapter!


	3. Frustrations

A/N: Sorry for the lack of update within the past month. I was at camp, and when I came back, all my files were gone! I had ¾ of the third chapter written and then it was all erased. Sorry about that.

Warnings: (Overall) Kenshin is a bit OOC in this story, but he gets better. Mild language.

On to the story!

Chapter Three: Frustrations

"I'm home!"

Kenshin swung open the door and called out to inform he had returned home. He hung up his coat on the coat hanger and took off his Nike sneakers. He quickly put his suitcase and blueprints in his office and headed towards the kitchen.

A smile lit up his face as he saw the love of his life in the kitchen, stirring miso soup for him. Her back was turned to him, but he could still see her beautiful face and her flowing, black hair. He snuck up on her and placed his hands over her eyes.

She seemed stunned, but relaxed at the sound of his voice. "Guess who?" he whispered.

His wife turned around and gave him a peck on the lips, but went back to stirring the soup.

"That's all I get?" he whined playfully.

She smirked, turned around and gave him a long, heart-warming kiss.

"That's better," he teased. "Where's Shinta?"

"Sleeping," she said with a smile. "He finally got to sleep,"

Kenshin responded with a genuine smile, and started poking his rice.

"How was work?" she inquired.

"It was okay. The usual." He replied shortly.

"The usual being…?" she started.

"You know, your brother trying to fire me all the time, that sort of stuff." He explained curtly.

"Oh, Kenshin," she began, her hand touching his arm. "He'll have to accept the fact we're together sometime. After all, he is my brother. He wouldn't want to disappoint his favorite sister, now would he?"

"I don't know…" he mumbled.

"He'll accept you soon," she reminded him softly.

Kenshin didn't respond, but instead began sipping at this miso soup.

It was a silent dinner, with only the running of the sink water to fill in the silence. Kenshin was in deep thought about work that day.

_I didn't mention the new girl…_ he thought. He decided that it was better that way. Tomoe wouldn't feel sorry for him as much.

Kenshin finished quietly and retreated to his office. He crept down the hall and down to the second to last door. He opened it and groaned at what he saw.

His office was a professional mess. There were crumpled pieces of paper on the ground, along with fresh sheets that had spilled off of his desk. There was absolutely no space to walk across to his even messier desk, which had about one pencil lying on it, the rest of them lost in the sea of paper. What made it worse was that the fan was blowing at top speed. Blueprints, both ripped and whole, were occupying the desk and the floor, and all his pens were missing. The overhead light bulb was shining pathetically by itself, illuminating the room until it would burn out. The funniest thing about that room was that his garbage bin was empty.

After practically fighting to get to his wheelie chair, he sat down and rolled over to his desk. His elbows rested on his desk, and his head fell into his hands. Kenshin released a sigh and took out a pencil to begin working.

_You're wrong…_

That voice! It haunted him. Why did she have to correct him?

_You're wrong…_

"Shut up!" he bellowed, snapping his pencil in two. He let out an aggravated sigh and threw it violently into the garbage bin. He groaned at seeing he had no more pencils to work with. In frustration, he banged his head on the desk, which earned him a throbbing forehead.

To make matters worse, the power suddenly went out. He was now stuck in a room full of waiting disasters.

He decided to retire for the night, but he struggled in the blinding darkness. At last, he reached the door, where Tomoe had handed him a small candle to take.

"Thanks," he whispered. She merely smiled and headed to their bedroom. Kenshin followed her.

He didn't even bother brushing his teeth; he just hopped into bed and fell asleep right away.

**&&&&&&**

Kaoru was up for a rude awakening.

"Kaaaaaaaaaaoru!" she heard a sing-songy voice croon above her.

"What?" she asked grumpily.

"I made you pancakes," she said, holding out a plate of her favorite blueberry pancakes on her favorite ceramic plate. Misao wore a kitchen apron and those mittens-that-you-wear-when-things-are-too-hot-to-hold.

Kaoru managed to give her an appreciative, yet weak smile and told her to put it on the table. She instantly fell asleep.

"But Kaaaaaaaaaaaaoruuuu! You have to go to that interview thing! You have to eat these fast!"

At that, she froze. She glanced at the clock. It was 7:45 AM.

"Ahh! Crap, crap, crap…" she muttered, jumping out of bed. Without even realizing Misao was there, she pulled on a brown pencil skirt and a white collar shirt with a blue, cashmere sweater on top of it. She quickly scrubbed her face with soap, dried it, doused her mouth with mouthwash, pulled her hair up in a ponytail, took out her favorite pair of stilettos from her closet, snatched her blueprints and bag, stuffed blueberry pancakes in her mouth while washing them down with Starbucks coffee, and sprinted out the door.

She jumped into her Toyota and drove at the speed of light to downtown Tokyo. But as soon as she met the highway, she was caught up in congested traffic.

"Ah! Dammit!" she cursed loudly, crashing her head onto the horn. It let out a loud honk, which she received many 'rude hand gestures' from.

Kaoru stared at the traffic ahead. She would be there for a long time.

She sighed and sipped some of her Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino with impatience. She was obviously pissed, and her boss would be too. She might not even get the job now. Thanks a lot, freaking world.

While she waited, she applied some lip balm to her chapped lips, but noticed she hadn't brought her makeup, which she cursed herself for. Now, she would one: be late, and two: look like crap.

This just wasn't her day.

Kaoru started getting bored, so she turned on the radio. She turned the dial to the most popular radio station in Japan, 99.9 FM. Kelly Clarkson's, "Behind These Hazel Eyes," blared from the speakers.

"Here I am, once again, I'm torn into pieces, can't deny it, can't pretend, just thought you were the one…" she sang along. "Broken up, deep inside, but you won't get to see the tears I cry… behind these hazel eyes,"

"Swallow me then spittin' me out, for hating you I blame myself, seeing you it kills me now, no I don't cry on the outside, anymore…"

She sang along with the entire rest of the song with entirely true feelings. _Why… why did he leave me?_ She thought sadly as the next song started playing.

_Music make you lose control, music make you lose control, Let's go, yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah, here we go now, here we go now…_

Kaoru blew her bangs out of her eyes. The traffic moved as slowly as it possibly could.

She looked her watch. It read 8:15 AM.

Cursing for the millionth time that day, she pedaled to the metal as soon as she got out of traffic.

"I can still make it," she muttered as she sped through downtown Tokyo. Kaoru, unfortunately, didn't notice that she was going sixty miles per hour.

"Yes! I made it…" she exclaimed, about to make a left into the parking lot. What stopped her were red and blue lights flashing through the mirror. She stopped and watched the car behind her stop.

"What the… oh no, oh no, oh no… please don't tell me – not now – are you kidding me?" she sighed in exasperation.

A police officer stepped out of the car with a notepad. Of tickets. He was smoking a cigarette, and his sharp, golden eyes bored into hers. He motioned for her to roll down the window. She did.

"What did I do?" she asked.

"You tell me," he said gruffly.

"Wha-"

"Did you not see yourself drive at sixty miles per hour?" he asked monotonously.

"Well, no, but-"

"Are you drunk?" he interrupted.

"Drunk? Wha – no! Of course not," she exclaimed.

"So… then you did know that you were driving that fast." He replied.

"I didn't realize-"

"Then you must've been drunk,"

Kaoru couldn't take this. "Just give me the freaking ticket! I have to be at work right now, and if I don't, I could be fired-"

"Hm. That's a shame. Shouldn't have been speeding then,"

"I-"

"Let me see your license," he demanded.

Kaoru got her purse, fumbled with her wallet, and showed him the horrifying picture of her on her driver's license.

"Hey, could you make this fast-"

But the wolfish officer had retreated to his car to write up the ticket.

The clock ticked away… 8:25… 8:26…

That officer seemed to enjoy keeping her waiting. She watched him light up another cigarette.

Finally, at 8:40, he came out of his car and handed her the ticket.

"One hundred dollars?" she asked angrily.

"Yes. For speeding, and looking like a raccoon." He recited with a smirk.

"Excuse me? You shouldn't be talking, you wolf!" she said heatedly.

"Hm… I think I'll add another twenty dollars for harassment." He murmured.

"You can't give me a fine for looking like a-" Kaoru began.

"Watch me," he said, beginning to go back to his car. "Be a bit more respectful to people of high authority."

"But-"

"Your trial's on July 11th," he cut in. Kaoru's eyes widened.

"Trial? What trial?" she questioned frantically.

"You're going to have to plead innocent to keep yourself driving. They'll take a few points off if you lose the case," he explained.

"What?" she nearly screamed. He shrugged, hopped into his car, and sped away.

"The nerve of that little…" she mumbled under her breath. As soon as she parked, she took her purse and her blueprints up to the fifth floor.

She ran past all the offices and desks to "Mr. Seijuro's Office," and burst through the door.

"Mr. Seijuro – I'm so sorry – there was tons of traffic-" she gasped, out of breath.

"Sit down. Those blueprints better be good," he interrupted sternly, his elbows on the desk and his hands laced in the air.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. She quickly unraveled the blueprints and spread them out on the glass table.

Carefully and wordlessly, Hiko examined the blueprints of the theater play for Shakespeare, nodding his head in approval and making sounds of appreciation.

"Very good," he declared, rolling the blueprint up and placing it on the ground next to him to inspect the next one.

He froze, his eyes as big as saucers as he looked at the layout for the mall. His eyes darted across the page, in bewilderment. Making sounds of approval and an apparent expression of impressiveness, he finally spoke.

"You – you designed this?" he inquired.

"Yes, I had planned to send it in, but I had no time and missed the deadline," she explained.

"This is much better than the current design for the mall," he complimented. "May I keep these?"

"Sure," she said easily.

"I have another meeting in five minutes, and due to your lack of being on time, we have to cut this interview short," he told her. It was silent. Kaoru waited for a response, but with her heart sagging, she headed towards the door. He hadn't told her if she had gotten the job! And frankly, the suspense was killing her.

"Oh, and Kamiya?" he said, about to dial a number.

"Yes?" she asked hopefully, turning around to face him.

"Welcome to Seijurou Architectural Industries."

**&&&&&&**

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. _

Kenshin stared at the clock before him. It read 9:30 AM. It had only been an hour and he was already losing his mind and losing the patience to sketch.

_I really need a vacation…_ he thought, sighing. It would be nice. Picking up the picture of him and Tomoe at their wedding, a smile crept up on his face. Yes, it would be nice. They could go to Hawaii… in the United States…

His daydreaming went on and on until the alarm for ten o' clock went off on his watch, and he snapped out of it.

"Right… I have to finish this by Thursday," he muttered to himself. He picked up his worn down pencil and started sketching… again.

After an hour, he finally dropped the nearly broken pencil. With a satisfied grin, he leaned back in his rolling chair and examined the print.

It was pretty damn good. It was everything that Enishi wanted, and he added a few special touches, like a signature trademark.

"He better accept this, or I'll-" he began.

"You'll what?"

Groaning inwardly, he reluctantly turned to face his boss.

"None of your business," he replied with the same cool tone as his boss, as if he was mocking him. Enishi glared at him and turned his heel and walked away. Kenshin could've sworn that he saw his eye twitch. Smirking, he felt triumph over the ego-maniac wearing a stupid contemporary, black suit.

But his glory didn't last for too long. With the smirk still on his face, he returned to watching his blueprint, but he felt a tap on the shoulder. It was Kamatari.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I'm not sure if you'll stay happy for too long…" he began.

"Why not?" he inquired in confusion.

"Look over there," Kamatari informed. Kenshin cocked his head towards the direction he was pointing to, which was his right.

_Oh, God._

He was sure that this was going to be one of the worst days of his life.

**&&&&&&**

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Yay! I've managed to finish another chapter. Please review! I'd really appreciate it, it will only take a minute or so. Sorry that this chapter is shorter than usual.

Reviewers:

**Royal BlueKitsune, mtgranola, shimmering tear-starry night blue, blodded wings, kawaii meeh, sweet taola, 1kenshinlover, and drawkcab** – thanks so much for your reviews and suggestions! They've really helped me.


	4. Subconscious Minds

A/N: For all my questioners, yes, this will turn out K/K.

Warnings:

Disclaimer: I don't own RK. Sadly. Yes. I know, it's terrible.

Chapter Four: Subconscious Minds

_Oh God._

He was sure that this was going to be one of the worst days of his life.

Yes, _that_ girl walked into the office right then and there.

"Oh no…" he murmured to himself. His purple orbs followed her as she carried a box in with a grin across her face. She walked down the hall with the box and entered Enishi's office. When she came back out, Enishi was with her. Kenshin watched them as he told her something, pointed to the desk next to him, and she nodded, heading towards that desk with the box.

The desk next to him.

"Oh God… please, no…" he muttered once again. He watched her, placing the box on the desk, not even glancing at him once. Catching his stare, she blushed and turned towards him. She had very startling features, pale skin, silky-black hair, and a pair of eyes with every shade of blue possible swirled in them.

"Hi…?" she began. Kenshin didn't say anything back. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya, and you are…?"

"Kenshin Himura," he replied coldly. She seemed puzzled at his cold tone.

"Nice to meet you, I guess," she said with the same warm voice, yet a hint of uncertainty hung in her tone, as she nodded towards him. She turned back to her things and began setting up her work area.

He turned back to his blueprint, blowing his bangs out of his face.

Yes, it was going to be a long day.

**&&&&&&**

Kenshin had watched his blueprint nearly all morning, forgetting about their twelve o'clock lunch break. When he wasn't looking at his blueprint, he was glaring a hole through Kaoru's head.

"Here, Kenny, I got you some McDonalds," he heard Kamatari's voice behind him, placing a brown, paper bag with the McDonald's symbol on it and a large Coke. "Thought you might possibly get hungry later,"

"Thanks," he replied genuinely, grabbing the Big Mac Kamatari had gotten for him. Kenshin was actually starved, but he didn't bother leaving the office in fear he'd get in trouble. He had realized that it was lunch break fifteen minutes before it ended. He gobbled it down, satisfying his stomach. Taking large slurps of Coke, he slouched back down again into his computer chair.

Being the bored person he was, he looked around. After finally looking to his right, he noticed Kaoru sitting there. She looked like she was working her ass off.

_And she hasn't even left the office yet…_Kenshin pondered. So she had work on the first day. Poor girl. She didn't have anything to eat yet. _She made you look bad in front of Enishi! She almost got you fired! Don't feel sorry for her!_

Kenshin agreed with himself. He shouldn't feel bad for her. After all, she _had_ almost gotten him fired.

Enishi walked into the room from his office, and Kenshin suddenly blurted out, "Do you want some fries?" regretting it immediately.

Kaoru gave him the same, puzzled look she had given him this morning, but it turned into a smile. "Sure, I'm starved," she admitted. Instinctively, he directed the bag towards her and she reached in for a fry with ketchup. Kenshin, meanwhile, was highly confused. _Why did I just do that?_

He wondered for a moment while she stuffed down some fries, and the answer struck him. _I was trying to look good in front of Enishi! If I show that I'm trying to be nice, he might not hate me as much…_He was clever… even subconsciously.

_But why does everything revolve around Enishi anyway… I look like I'm trying to please him or something…_ Kenshin thought once more. _Wait… it's for Tomoe, I'm just trying to get him to accept me, and so Tomoe will be happy. And so will I._

Proud of himself, he took a fry himself and munched on it.

_You're a genius…_

But little did he know, this relationship with Kaoru was about to get more complicated.

**&&&&&&**

_How kind of him…_ Kaoru thought. She had thought that the man named Kenshin Himura was an unfriendly snob, but it turns out he wasn't so bad. It was nice of him to notice she hadn't even eaten lunch and offer her some fries. Even though she hated greasy food.

She was exhausted. Enishi had given her loads of work for the first day, and she had to finish by tonight. She was only half-way finished!

Kaoru glanced up at the clock. 4:30! Time went by so slowly. It was only a minute ago she looked at the clock.

She groaned in desperation. She wasn't enjoying this at all. Maybe this job wasn't right for her. _I'll give it a month or two…_Kaoru felt her stomach rumble again. Those fries just weren't enough.

Kenshin, who was still sitting there next to him, at his desk (he was apparently doing something important, because he seemed to be very frustrated,) finally got up to get another cup of coffee from the terrible blender they had in the office.

As soon as he returned with an entire mug full of coffee, she blurt out, "You know, you shouldn't be having this much caffeine, especially in the afternoon. You won't be able to sleep,"

He looked towards her after taking a sip. "Since when have you cared about my physical being?" he asked sharply, setting the mug down on his already cluttered desk.

Kaoru was taken aback, and slightly hurt. "Well, I only meant to make a suggestion," she murmured back, turning back to her work.

Kenshin shrugged, as if the conversation didn't matter. Taking another sip, he picked up his pencil.

She was greatly puzzled.

Another hour ticked by without any communication between the two of them. And another… and another.

She watched as Kenshin stood up and packed his stuff, ready to leave. She still had a lot of work to do.

Suddenly feeling an urge of boldness, she suddenly called out to him, "Bye!" as he walked towards the staircase. He turned around and shot a glare at her. Kaoru was surprised. "Why are you so angry with me?" she finally questioned after a silence.

Surprising her again, he began to approach her with a menacing expression on his face. She didn't back away. It was then she realized that they were the only two left in the office.

"That's none of your business, okay? Just go back to doing your sweet work for Enishi, and stop trying to befriend me!" he shouted.

Kaoru's couldn't take it. She could feel her temper rising. "I was just trying to be nice to you! You seemed to be upset, so I tried helping you by being friendly! And you just – ignore my concerns off as if I didn't even say anything at all! Now you're screaming at me for doing absolutely nothing that could bother you!" she hollered back. "I just wanted a person that I could talk to, and, you know, be friends with," she added softly. She felt just like a little girl, trying to make friends at school.

The former dancer gazed up at his amber-hued eyes. He wore an expression of exasperation, but she could swear that she saw it flicker back to its soft, original amethyst for a split second. But as soon as she realized this, they switched back to their golden flare.

He scoffed. "Friends? You don't know what you've done to me, we couldn't ever be friends," he spat.

"Yeah? Like what?" she inquired hotly, her temper rising once more.

"Like I'd ever tell you…" he muttered.

"And why wouldn't you?" she shot.

"There are just some things little girls don't need to know," he replied. A smirk flashed upon his face as he watched her scowl.

"I'm not a little girl! I'm a woman, thank you very much." She retorted.

"You know what? I'm not going to stand here all night, fighting with you. I actually have a family that I have to support," Kenshin finally declared, turning back to the stairs. Before Kaoru got to reply, he was already storming down the stairs.

"The nerve of that little…" she hissed. "And I thought he was so nice. What happened?" she muttered to herself. She slumped down onto her desk. Burying her head in her arms, the young woman sighed. How was she going to get through tomorrow?

Too distracted to any more work, she packed up and left the office, and headed home. Once again, there was traffic.

"They should really make a fifth lane…" she muttered, one hand on the wheel, the other sweeping her bangs out of her eyes. She switched on the radio.

_Nononono, baby, nononono, don't lie…_

The Black Eyed Peas song made her want to get up and dance, but she was in too much of a tired mood to do that. After getting off the highway, she drove back to her apartment.

Too lazy to get her keys, she knocked on the door. Immediately, the door opened by the energetic girl – the one and only, Misao.

"Kaoru! You're home!" Misao beamed, letting her into their apartment. "I cooked some ramen noodles – the ones in the cup, you know, the ones you like,"

Kaoru laughed for one of the first times that day. "Thanks, Misao, I really need that right now." Ramen was one of her many comfort foods.

Ignoring the rest of the work she was actually supposed to do, she grabbed the cup-noodles that Misao had instantly made from her hands and plopped down on the couch with her.

"So, how was your exam?" Kaoru inquired as she saw Misao flipping through the channels.

"Oh… I don't know. It was really hard, but I think I did quite well. Did I tell you? Aoshi-sama looked at me today! Right before the exams, he was somehow there, and he looked at me! He didn't smile or say hi, but from the look in his eyes, I knew that it meant something," she swooned.

"How could you see anything past those icy eyes…" Kaoru muttered back, sticking her chopsticks in her noodles. Though she was confused, because she had noticed Misao had had quite a few encounters with Aoshi lately…

"He lets me, Kaoru-chan, he lets me! I'm the only one he allows through – to see his mind almost. It's like he's vulnerable when he's around me. Oh, Kaoru! I know he's going to ask one day – and it will be soon!" she declared, almost spilling over her noodles in excitement.

Kaoru laughed with her friend's optimism. "You never know, Misao, he might unexpectedly ask somebody else out before you," she teased.

"No he won't! He'll wait for me," she explained with sparkling eyes. Shaking her head, Kaoru snatched a DVD and popped it in the player. It was a disc of the episodes of Smallville.

"Now, _that_ is what you call hot," she announced, pointing to Tom Welling, currently topless, which exposed all his muscles. Although she wasn't a little school girl, she couldn't help but gaze at him.

"Nahh, he's too… pretty looking," she retorted. "I like my Aoshi-sama and my Adam better,"

"Whatever, this guy is looks like heaven to me, at least," Kaoru shrugged, slurping the last of the noodles she had.

It was funny, the kind of pointless conversations she had with Misao.

After drinking a large glass of water, (the sodium content in the ramen was incredibly high) she yawned loudly.

_Maybe I should just get some rest for tomorrow. I'm way too tired to finish that work. _Kaoru contemplated. In the end, she agreed with her idea.

Taking a long, relaxing shower, she thought about that rude man, Kenshin Himura.

"Gosh… he could be nice if he tried, I know he could… people are just so angry these days!" she muttered to herself, rinsing out the shampoo in her hair. "I feel bad for his wife… having to deal with such a snob like him everyday. How'd he get married in the first place anyhow?" she said to herself, massaging in conditioner with irritation.

After stepping out of the shower, she pulled on her bathrobe, and stopped herself of thinking of that man. "He's not worth your time or thoughts," she decided. Smiling, she exited the bathroom.

It was at first, hard for Kaoru to see. Everything was blurry.

"Wow, I must be really sleepy," she wondered. As soon as things cleared up again, she changed into her pajamas. But the drowsiness came back again, blurring her vision. "Do I need glasses?" she questioned herself. Before she could answer, she saw darkness.

**&&&&&&**

What a little brat!

Spitting out the remains of the toothpaste in his mouth, he rinsed it thoroughly and thought to himself, "That girl – she gets on my nerves too much,"

Hm. She was really invading his private mind too.

The thought didn't bother him for the rest of the night, but he knew it was still lurking in the back of his mind.

_Stupid sub-consciousness,_ he thought, his eyelids heavy, as he fell asleep.

* * *

! and another chapter finished.

So, whaddaya think? Please REVIEW! I really need this reviews to improve my story, and to make me happy ;D

AAAAAND you need to review so you can **vote** for which story you want to see me writing next:

The candidates areeee :drumrolls:

TAKE MY HAND:  
-Summary: A tidal wave crashes upon the heart of Tokyo. Kamiya Kaoru has just barely escaped the disaster, but how will she survive? With the help of a mysterious, red-haired, purple-eyed man. AU. KK. What may seem like the end could just be the beginning.

CONFESSIONS OF A RACOON:  
-Kaoru is a writer with big dreams. She one day gets an inspiration to write a thrilling, fresh, novel. Little do the readers know, that this novel is an autobiography. AU. KK. Writing really is a true form of expression.

CRYSTAL CLEAR:  
-People tell me I was born with a curse - blindness. They pity me. But little do they know, I can see much more clearly than they ever could. I am Kenshin Himura. My job is to open people's eyes, to help them see. AU. KK. For a blind person, I can see crystal clear.

KEY TO ROOM 414:  
-Kaoru is the manager of a major hotel in New York City. Life had always been the same for her. Routine. Never once did she do something spontaneous. But one ma ncan change that. AU. KK. It's feels good to break free for once.

(title/summary pending)MY PERSONAL DIARY(suggestions are welcomed):  
-After a heart-shattering accident, Kaoru loses her entire memory. With the help of a mysterious red-head, she begins taking tiny steps towards regaining her memory, but until then, she needs a personal diary. AU. KK. Patience is a virtue.

PLEASE VOTE! I will keep this up for another chapter or two. Until then, keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!

-ss1128


	5. Realizations and Snow Globes

A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews! They've meant so much to me. Please keep reviewing! I'd really appreciate some more reviews. 800 hits, 40 reviews? And btw, I review EVERY story I finish reading, so just take a little time of your day and just press that purplish button down there. Thanks! And **VOTE VOTE VOTE** for the story you want to see next.

Disclaimer: Yeah. I don't exactly own Rurouni Kenshin. Yep. Real tragedy.

Warnings:

Chapter Five:

Kaoru woke up the next morning with a splitting headache.

"Oh, gosh…" she moaned, flipping over on her other side to check the time. 6:45 AM. With another groan, she faced the ceiling once more. "What did I do to deserve such bad luck…"

By 7:00, the pain wore off a bit, but still hurt like hell to Kaoru. She forced herself out of bed to go find some Tylenol, or Motrin or something that would ease the pain.

"Ugh…" she groaned. Misao, who was drinking a smoothie snorted in surprise.

"Kaoru! I didn't know you were up so early," she exclaimed brightly. Her energetic friend blabbered on. "Sorry, that there's nothing to eat, just yogurt and smoothies and stuff. I could run out get something for you by the bakery down the street, if you like. Or maybe you would want some bagels. Or how about-"

"Misao," she interrupted. "It's okay. I don't need anything to eat. Just aspirin. Please." She finished, a hand still on her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Misao inquired, opening the cabinet of medicines.

"A killer headache," she replied unpleasantly.

"Time of the month?" she questioned once again.

"No, this is much more painful," she explained, thankfully snatching two pills and swallowing them with the water Misao had poured for her.

"Do you want anything to eat?" she asked, ready to take out a Krispy Kreme donut, which was for emergencies.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," Kaoru answered. "I'll just bring it to work," she added, remembering her dilemma from the previous day.

"Good idea," Misao agreed. "Sorry, I got to leave now – I promised Kei that I would help her study before our final exam for Biology,"

"Bye," Kaoru called as Misao sped out the door, and she heard a faint, "Sayonara!"

Letting out a sigh, she plopped her head down on a pillow, hoping that she would feel better in a couple of minutes.

Nope, the aspirin didn't do too much.

She finally gave up and stormed back to her room to begin changing. Fighting the pain, she went on with her morning tasks, as if there was nothing wrong with her at all. Kaoru wasn't a vain person; it didn't take long for her to get ready. Just brush her teeth, wash her face, apply some makeup, fix her hair, and voila – she was done.

By the time she was ready, it was 7:30. _Right on time,_ she thought with a smile, which was her first that morning. The pain swelled down a little bit, which left her in a brighter mood. Grabbing her purse, making sure she took the donut too, Kaoru headed to her car, determined to do well at her job today.

There was not as much traffic as the day before, but still enough to stall her. Luckily, she arrived right at 8:00.

During the day, the office was quiet. First thing in the morning, it was like a mad-house. There were people sprinting around, phones ringing in every corner, papers flying everywhere.

"Get to your meetings, people!" she heard the booming voice of Hiko Seijurou call out. The entire office scrambled around to get to their meetings as soon as possible, afraid of their six foot tall boss.

Kaoru followed what the crowd was doing and headed towards 'Room 210,' while quickly snatching her sketches from her desk. With the same idea of haste, she sat down right at 8:15, and the meeting began. She scanned the room through her azure orbs.

There was Enishi in the front – she didn't like that man too much, there was something about his aura that made her shiver. Then there were a few workers – whose names she didn't even know – the one next to them was, Kamatari? He was probably gay. Then there was Kenshin Himura. That man… she couldn't even begin to explain what he was like. That creep -

Her thoughts were cut short by the cool tone of Enishi, initiating the meeting. "So," he began. "The meeting has begun. Anyone care to show the work they have done in the past two days?" he continued, glaring at Kenshin. He glared right back, and spoke up.

"Yes, I have the…_better_ blueprints," he drawled out, emphasizing 'better' stiffly.

"Good. Let's see them," Enishi replied, his hands behind his head, crossing his legs, as if he were about to enjoy something.

Kaoru stared through the violet orbs at the man with the hair like fire. She could swear that it was a shade of gold – with coldness shimmering on the surface. As he began to speak, she spaced out. Not listening to a word he said, she just observed his ever-changing eyes. All sense of sound was blocked out from her ears.

Underneath those piercing, round eyes, a layer of confusion, sadness, nervousness, and slight depression was arising, swirled in the mist of anger. Kaoru wondered about this for a great deal of the meeting – why was sad? Why was he confused? Why was he angry?

It wasn't until that gay man – Kamatari, tapped her on the shoulder snapped her out of her trance.

"You really should pay more attention next time, sweetie. If you don't that bastard's going to find some way to shoot you down," Kamatari warned, as they walked down the halls of the office.

"Yeah, I know… I was just thinking," Kaoru replied, clutching her papers and books to her chest.

"Thinking about my Kenny?" he inquired with a wink.

An expression of shock spread across her face. "What? Of course not, and even if I was, it would be negative thoughts!" she huffed, offended that Kamatari would think of something like that.

"Sure, honey, sure. See you later," he answered, walking down the rows to his desk.

Kaoru sighed. Gosh, that man really bothered her now. He seemed so nice – even if he was a little weird.

"Oh well… ughrghh…" she mumbled, looking at all the paperwork she was assigned to do. "When will I get to sketch?" she asked to the air.

"Sooner than you might expect," she heard a cool voice slither in her ear.

Kaoru yelped and jumped out of her seat. It was Enishi, standing right before her.

"Wow, you gave me a scare there," she breathed, a hand over her heart, feeling her rapid heartbeat.

"Sorry about that," he murmured, taking a seat in what was usually Kenshin's chair. Where was he, anyway?

"So… you said that I might have a chance to draw soon?" she questioned hopefully.

"Yes, you may. There is a building – around the outskirts of the city – it is a rather important building. It's the building for that business man, Makoto Shishio? Heard of him?" he explained.

That name was familiar… but from where? "Yes, I think I have heard of him," Kaoru muttered.

"Yes. Anyway, he wants a fantastic building, and the boss, Mr. Seijurou, thinks you can handle that task, with maybe some help. It's just an idea so far, it hasn't been completely confirmed by Mr. Shishio." He finished.

Kaoru looked at him in awe. An important building for Makoto Shishio? That was huge! Excitement rose up in her.

"Anyway… I came here for another reason." Enishi said, driving away from the topic of architecture. "How do you like your office buddy, Kenshin?" he asked with disgust.

"Um…" Kaoru began. "I-"

"You can tell me the truth. He's not watching, is he? I need to know these kind of things," Enishi explained.

"Well… he can be kind sometimes, but I'm not sure yet, because I've only known him for a day. He can be kind of rude though," Kaoru blurted. Why the hell did she just say that?

Enishi wore a look of sick satisfaction. "Good. I'll be back later," he finished. He approached her, leaving about two inches of space in between them. "By the way, I think you look great without makeup." He whispered in her ear, his breath leaving her with chilling goose bumps. He gave her a long glance, and then exited the room.

Ew.

Just then, Kenshin entered the room. He gave her a piercing glare that would've shot her dead if looks could kill.

"Well… had your first talk with Enishi?" he inquired coldly. "And you decided to make me look even worse there, too?" he added with anger dripping off of every word he spoke.

Kaoru's eyes were wide – he had heard?

"Yes, I did hear that entire conversation." He answered, as if he read her mind. "I know he wants me out as soon as possible… and you just helped him," he went on, his frustration breaking the freshly sharpened pencil tip on a sheet of graph paper.

Kaoru bit her lip, staying silent throughout this whole speech. _Say something! _Her mind screamed. But she couldn't. Why?

Instead of getting angry at him, she simply asked the question on her mind. "Why?" she whispered.

Kenshin looked surprised, but it suddenly turned to irritation. "Because you just told him I was rude, which he thinks is absolutely true," he answered, turning back to the pencil sharpener.

"No… I mean, why?" she repeated, staring at his cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, as millions of things ran through her head.

"Why what?" he asked, extremely confused and annoyed.

"Why are you sad? Why are you depressed? Why are you always angry?" she asked, finally looking up into his eyes. Shock reached them, and they turned a deep shade of dark purple.

"I'd rather not say…" he murmured, turning away from her.

Kaoru was disappointed, because she didn't get any answers. She had a curious nature, and no answers just kept her pestering on.

"…and why do you care anyway?" he snapped, which immediately set up a defensive wall for himself from showing too much emotion.

"See? You're scared… all the time…" she interrupted suddenly. Kenshin gave her a queer look that even though he was trying to hide it, was full of realization.

They didn't speak for the rest of the day.

**&&&&&&**

It was 6:30 PM – the end of another long, tiring day. Kaoru contently packed up her stuff, getting ready to leave.

The paperwork that was given to her that day wasn't difficult – they were just inquiries of what she did, sketching-wise, or some papers Enishi had requested for her to sign.

She was about to exit the office, but glanced back at Kenshin one last time for that day. He was intensely sketching away, his face screwed up into a frustrated expression. Turning away, she walked down the hall.

There were only a few people left in the office, but the majority of them she didn't know. Kaoru took the stairwell down, for the elevator hadn't been fixed yet.

As she passed through the lobby, exiting the building and into the parking lot, she didn't notice a pair of light turquoise eyes behind dark sunglasses intently watching her the entire time.

**&&&&&&**

Kenshin was sitting at his desk, staring into the snow globe that rested on his desk. He wasn't even working. All he was doing was thinking.

_The snow fell hard that night. After all, it was Montreal; it was pretty cold during the winter._

_Why couldn't he go somewhere warmer, like Mexico, for a business trip?_

_He was regretting every moment since he accepted the task for designing a building all the way in Canada. Why did he do that?_

_His intuition told him to do so. He had a feeling that pushed him forward, telling him to take this assignment. The young architect had expected something exciting and life-altering to happen… and nothing had happened so far except for the fact that he had caught a cold._

_He wrapped his scarf around his neck tighter, insulting more heat. The streets he walked through were almost deserted, with the exception of the occasional cars passing by and the few shops that were still open._

_The red-head only had a few hours left in the country, and he decided to spend it in town. Why wouldn't he grasp the opportunity to finally get out of his 'drawing chair?'_

_As he approached the small market covered in a blanket of white fluff, a tiny sensation of warmth flowed through his body, as he started wandering towards life and light._

_He floated past a few tents that sold little trinkets, like key chains, and other touristy things._

_His eyes lingered on a snow globe in front of him. It was the most beautiful snow globe he had ever seen – it was simple; with the regular fake snowflakes falling down, the title engraved, 'Montreal,' and a city in the background. But the beauty was in the tranquility of the fake snow swimming in the water. It slowly rested at the bottom, and the entire globe was still._

_He reached for it, and found that another hand was there already._

_"Oh, I'm sorry," he murmured, instinctively removing his hand from the globe._

_"No, I was just looking at it. You can have it," the owner of the hand responded. He looked up at her. Her face was covered in a heavy scarf, the only thing visible were her vivid, bright, sapphire eyes._

_He could see her smile through the scarf. She placed the globe back onto the market table, gave one last glance at him, and walked away._

_The young man was left puzzled, and the only thing he felt like he had to do was to buy that snow globe. Something inside his mind triggered which told him to buy it._

_So he did._

_He continued on – he passed by the little vanities without noticing yet another woman in front of him. He accidentally bumped into her, and she gasped._

_"Oh, I'm sorry," he murmured once again, picking up the bag she dropped from the icy floor._

_"It's okay, it was my fault," she answered, taking the bag from him thankfully. Her beautiful voice entranced him, her tone as sweet as a song._

_He gazed up at her. She had a very pale face, with dark eyes that bore sadness, although her face was lit up with a smile. The woman was gorgeous, but her aura was full of sorrow, and her beauty was haunting._

_There was an awkward silence between them, as the world around them went on with life, and the little space they occupied halted time. They concentrated on each other's eyes, realization washing over them as they learned more about each other every second without saying a word._

_"Well…I guess I should be going then," she finally spoke up, breaking their thoughts._

_"Yes, I suppose so…" he muttered. The woman began to turn away, walking towards another man with silver-whitish hair. He didn't notice this man, and called out to her._

_"Wait!"_

_The woman spun around and looked towards him._

_"Yeah?" she called back, her hopeful, dark eyes gazing into his._

_He approached her with confidence. "What did you say your name was?" he inquired._

_"Tomoe Yukishiro." She answered. "And yours?"_

_"Kenshin. Kenshin Himura."_

And that was the story of the snow globe. That was how he met Tomoe.

Fate altered things itself, and that's how they got there today.

But as he reminisced on the story, he couldn't help but wonder what happened to the mysterious, blue-eyed girl. She was definitely familiar – family friend? Someone in his past life?

He shrugged this thought off and packed up his stuff to leave. He glanced at the clock – 7:15. Groaning, he left the few people that remained in the office and headed out to leave.

The rest of the night was eventless for Kenshin, and the thought of that blue-eyed girl was pushed back to the back of his mind – but it was still there.

* * *

Holaaa! Another chapter finished.

I'm so sorry for the long wait! I hope this was good enough. It wasn't that exciting, but it provided a lot of information… and a lot of questions.

PLEASE REVIEW! AND VOTE FOR THE STORY YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE NEXT:

TAKE MY HAND:  
-Summary: A tidal wave crashes upon the heart of Tokyo. Kamiya Kaoru has just barely escaped the disaster, but how will she survive? With the help of a mysterious, red-haired, purple-eyed man. AU. KK. What may seem like the end could just be the beginning.

CONFESSIONS OF A RACCOON:  
-Kaoru is a writer with big dreams. She one day gets an inspiration to write a thrilling, fresh, novel. Little do the readers know, that this novel is an autobiography. AU. KK. Writing really is a true form of expression.

CRYSTAL CLEAR:  
-People tell me I was born with a curse - blindness. They pity me. But little do they know, I can see much more clearly than they ever could. I am Kenshin Himura. My job is to open people's eyes, to help them see. AU. KK. For a blind person, I can see crystal clear.

KEY TO ROOM 414:  
-Kaoru is the manager of a major hotel in New York City. Life had always been the same for her. Routine. Never once did she do something spontaneous. But one man can change that. AU. KK. It's feels good to break free for once.

(title/summary pending)MY PERSONAL DIARY(suggestions are welcomed):  
-After a heart-shattering accident, Kaoru loses her entire memory. With the help of a mysterious red-head, she begins taking tiny steps towards regaining her memory, but until then, she needs a personal diary. AU. KK. Patience is a virtue.

Oh, and the results so far are:  
Take My Hand – 0  
Confessions of Raccoon – 1  
Crystal Clear – 2  
Key To Room 414 – 2  
My Personal Diary - 1

PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks to royalbluekitsune, blooded wyngs, kawaii meeh, 1kenshinlover, Dancer122, Shimmering Tear, mari, and Alex! Thank you guys so much, they mean so much to me – honestly.

-ss1128


	6. Remembrances of an Old Love

A/N: Thank you for your reviews. They're awesome, really.

Disclaimer: I don't own RK. Or Splenda.

Warnings: None.

Chapter 6: Remembrances of an Old Love

Kaoru had gotten through half of the day.

Phew.

She woke up early this morning - and luckily with no headaches. She felt dazed, but that was probably caused by waking up at 6:00 AM.

She was on her way on her lunch break to have a quick lunch with Misao. She had officially a week left of college and she couldn't wait to finally get a job, fall in love… though the second part had happened already. She said she was going to bring someone along, but she didn't know who it was.

They decided to meet at a restaurant called the Akabeko. It was slightly old – it had been around for six years now. But they had incredible food and the lines were usually out the door. Kaoru was personal friends with the owner, Tae, for reasons she preferred to keep secret.

The tiny jingle of the doorway always made her smile – she had always been fond of that sound. Even when she was a child. She'd constantly open and close the door just to hear that bell jingle. So she opened the door with a smile on her face.

"Kaoru!"

She immediately cocked her head to the right, which was where the sound came from. There sat Misao, her eyes sparkling and her voice giddy with happiness.

Kaoru's eyes widened at the sight of the person next to her giddy friend.

**&&&&&&  
**

Kenshin stepped out of his car after parking in the lot of one of his favorite restaurants. He was supposed to be meeting Tomoe and Shinta for a family lunch. The Akabeko was Shinta's favorite restaurant.

Entering the restaurant, he heard that familiar jingle – the one that would always bring back memories. He expected Tomoe and Shinta to be at the table to the right, where they always sat, but found something a bit more disturbing instead.

Her. Again.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, making her jump, as well as her friends, one a guy and one a girl.

Once she realized who it was, her face hardened with anger. "Don't I have a right to go to my favorite restaurant?"

Kenshin glared at her. "This is _my_ favorite restaurant. This is _my_ seat. Get out." He replied tensely.

"No! You have no right to do that, and no seat is _yours_," she argued. Tae came over when she heard the fighting.

"Kenshin, she came here first, and she's right – you don't really own the seat." Tae explained in an apologetic tone. "Please don't fight."

"Where's my wife and my son?" he demanded.

"We were right here all along," Tomoe answered, confused at the entire commotion caused. They were sitting right next to them.

Kenshin, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world, ignored the fact that the past three minutes just occurred and sat down next to his wife and son.

**&&&&&&  
**

Kaoru wore an expression of extreme irritation. As soon as she thought that she could escape that madman, he came right up in her face again.

"So, uh, who was that?" inquired Misao, suspicious yet curious.

"A stuck-up, immature brat named Kenshin Himura," she muttered, placing a napkin on her lap.

"Co-worker?" presumed Misao.

"Yeah, she's pretty annoying if you ask me," a loud voice said with irritation. It was the man from the other table, named Himura.

"Nobody asked you!" Kaoru replied loudly back. Kenshin scoffed and turned back to his family. "He's just so immature,"

"Anyway," Kaoru began. "What are you doing here, Sou? Aren't you supposed to be at the theater right now?"

"I took the day off," answered the smiling man across from her. His dark hair framed his face well, his eyes sparkled with happiness. For the second time in her life, Kaoru realized how intriguing he really was…

"Oh, that's good, you look a bit tired," Kaoru noted. Soujirou nodded. "How is the production going?"

"It's going great, but it isn't the same without you," he sighed. "Nobody's as good as you! The new lead dancer is just…" he screwed his face up in a look of disgust.

Kaoru laughed out loud. Soujirou was really funny. "I'll come and watch it as soon as it begins – in the beginning of October, right?"

"Yes, October eighth," answered Soujirou automatically. Kaoru smiled.

"I'll be right back, tell Tae that I want the big box thing at the top of the page, k?" Misao told Kaoru, getting out of the seat in heading to the bathroom.

"Sure," she called back. Two seconds later, Tae came with a little white pad.

"Misao wants the big box, as usual, I would like… the tuna box, and…" Kaoru stated for Soujirou to finish.

"I'll take the eel with the rice thing on the bottom…" he explained. Tae laughed and cut him off.

"Sure thing, hun," she replied, walking over to Kenshin's table.

**&&&&&&  
**

"Kenshin, can you please calm down? I think you're scaring Shinta," pleaded Tomoe, glancing worriedly at her husband. Shinta wore an expression of confusion.

"She's just so annoying!" he hissed. "She took our spot!"

"How do you know her?" inquired Tomoe curiously.

"Work, she's new," explained Kenshin, still bothered by the presence of her. He glanced over at her table - she was laughing with her male friend. He laughed bitterly.

"Oh," answered Tomoe. "Well, you should be a little nicer to her; after all, you're working with her,"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he muttered, taking a look at the menu.

**&&&&&&  
**

After lunch was finished, Kaoru came out extremely happy – though she didn't know why.

Misao ranted on about Aoshi, while Kaoru and Soujirou listened. Sou was a good listener, he always was. Kaoru just learned how to let information pass through one ear and go out the other.

She watched Misao wave goodbye from her car and speed away.

"So… how are you?" questioned Soujirou softly. They were alone now.

"I'm – I'm fine, why?" she stammered.

"Just wondering… dating anybody?" he inquired.

Kaoru froze at the sudden question. What should she say? She didn't want him to think that she was a loser that couldn't get more than one boyfriend…

"No, I was more focused on getting a good job…" she explained. Soujirou nodded.

"Yes, that's important," he said, to fill the silence between them. "I have to go, I – have to meet someone in ten minutes,"

Kaoru was about to say something, but decided to keep her mouth shut. Last time something like this happened, she lost her boyfriend – she didn't want to lose her friend too.

"Bye, Kaoru," he called from his car.

"Bye," she replied softly, looking at her sandals. The right one had a black smudge. She watched him as he sped off into the distance. As he turned a corned, she sighed and headed back to the office.

Her happy mood vanished like vapor into the air – she couldn't catch it as it flew away. The replaced mood – a depressed one, held her down like a stone. What Kaoru was left with was mindless paperwork and a cup of bad coffee.

_Oh, Sou…  
_

That lunch was a mistake. She knew that Misao was planning to bring him.

_She wanted me to get back together with him!_ She thought furiously, taking a large sip of steaming coffee. _Just when things were getting back to normal, she just had to do that!  
_

"Kaoru, hun, are you alright? There's no Splenda left in the bowl, is that it?" soothed Kamatari. "It's because I stole it. Here, I'll give you a pack,"

"No, its fine, I'm okay," murmured Kaoru, loosening her grip on the mug.

"You sure?" he asked again.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit – tense," she managed to muster.

"Okay, just tell me if you need anything," he answered, heading to the bathroom.

She sighed and began to think while doing her paperwork.

_It was a college thing! Yes, I did love him, but he broke my heart! How could he…  
_

_I'm supposed to be over him. I _was _until I found out that he was working at the same dance company as me. Coincidence? I really don't know.  
_

_And then things were getting back to normal. We were comfortable with each other. We were friends. I mean, we didn't see each other too often, he was working on set design... but we were still friends.  
_

_And Misao had to ruin it all! She knew it was still hard for me…though I was over it.  
_

She sighed with aggravation.

_Oh Sou…I don't know what to think now…  
_

A/N: Dun dun dunnnnn!

How did you like this chapter? I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while… I was busy.

Please review! I want to know what you think. AND VOTE FOR:

TAKE MY HAND:  
-Summary: A tidal wave crashes upon the heart of Tokyo. Kamiya Kaoru has just barely escaped the disaster, but how will she survive? With the help of a mysterious, red-haired, purple-eyed man. AU. KK. What may seem like the end could just be the beginning.

CONFESSIONS OF A RACOON:  
-Kaoru is a writer with big dreams. She one day gets an inspiration to write a thrilling, fresh, novel. Little do the readers know, that this novel is an autobiography. AU. KK. Writing really is a true form of expression.

CRYSTAL CLEAR:  
-People tell me I was born with a curse - blindness. They pity me. But little do they know, I can see much more clearly than they ever could. I am Kenshin Himura. My job is to open people's eyes, to help them see. AU. KK. For a blind person, I can see crystal clear.

KEY TO ROOM 414:  
-Kaoru is the manager of a major hotel in New York City. Life had always been the same for her. Routine. Never once did she do something spontaneous. But one man can change that. AU. KK. It's feels good to break free for once.

(title/summary pending)MY PERSONAL DIARY(suggestions are welcomed):  
-After a heart-shattering accident, Kaoru loses her entire memory. With the help of a mysterious red-head, she begins taking tiny steps towards regaining her memory, but until then, she needs a personal diary. AU. KK. Patience is a virtue.

TAKE MY HAND: **1**

CONFESSIONS OF A RACOON: **6**

CRYSTAL CLEAR: **6**

KEY TO ROOM 414: **6**

MY PERSONAL DIARY: **2**


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